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To get a sense of who is truly in control of Storytel AB (publ) (STO:STORY B), it is important to understand the ownership structure of the business. The group holding the most number of shares in the company, around 35% to be precise, is individual investors. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).

While institutions who own 26% came under pressure after market cap dropped to kr2.7b last week,individual investors took the most losses.

Let's take a closer look to see what the different types of shareholders can tell us about Storytel.

See our latest analysis for Storytel

Institutions typically measure themselves against a benchmark when reporting to their own investors, so they often become more enthusiastic about a stock once it's included in a major index. We would expect most companies to have some institutions on the register, especially if they are growing.

We can see that Storytel does have institutional investors; and they hold a good portion of the company's stock. This can indicate that the company has a certain degree of credibility in the investment community. However, it is best to be wary of relying on the supposed validation that comes with institutional investors. They too, get it wrong sometimes. When multiple institutions own a stock, there's always a risk that they are in a 'crowded trade'. When such a trade goes wrong, multiple parties may compete to sell stock fast. This risk is higher in a company without a history of growth. You can see Storytel's historic earnings and revenue below, but keep in mind there's always more to the story.

We note that hedge funds don't have a meaningful investment in Storytel. Looking at our data, we can see that the largest shareholder is Roxette Photo NV with 13% of shares outstanding. Meanwhile, the second and third largest shareholders, hold 11% and 8.4%, of the shares outstanding, respectively.

We also observed that the top 6 shareholders account for more than half of the share register, with a few smaller shareholders to balance the interests of the larger ones to a certain extent.

Researching institutional ownership is a good way to gauge and filter a stock's expected performance. The same can be achieved by studying analyst sentiments. Quite a few analysts cover the stock, so you could look into forecast growth quite easily.

While the precise definition of an insider can be subjective, almost everyone considers board members to be insiders. Company management run the business, but the CEO will answer to the board, even if he or she is a member of it.

I generally consider insider ownership to be a good thing. However, on some occasions it makes it more difficult for other shareholders to hold the board accountable for decisions.

Our information suggests that insiders maintain a significant holding in Storytel AB (publ). It has a market capitalization of just kr2.7b, and insiders have kr408m worth of shares in their own names. It is great to see insiders so invested in the business. It might be worth checking if those insiders have been buying recently.

With a 35% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over Storytel. While this size of ownership may not be enough to sway a policy decision in their favour, they can still make a collective impact on company policies.

With a stake of 11%, private equity firms could influence the Storytel board. Sometimes we see private equity stick around for the long term, but generally speaking they have a shorter investment horizon and -- as the name suggests -- don't invest in public companies much. After some time they may look to sell and redeploy capital elsewhere.

Our data indicates that Private Companies hold 13%, of the company's shares. Private companies may be related parties. Sometimes insiders have an interest in a public company through a holding in a private company, rather than in their own capacity as an individual. While it's hard to draw any broad stroke conclusions, it is worth noting as an area for further research.

It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand Storytel better, we need to consider many other factors. Consider risks, for instance. Every company has them, and we've spotted 1 warning sign for Storytel you should know about.

Ultimately the future is most important. You can access this free report on analyst forecasts for the company.

NB: Figures in this article are calculated using data from the last twelve months, which refer to the 12-month period ending on the last date of the month the financial statement is dated. This may not be consistent with full year annual report figures.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.

This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.

Find out whether Storytel is potentially over or undervalued by checking out our comprehensive analysis, which includes fair value estimates, risks and warnings, dividends, insider transactions and financial health.

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Both individual investors who control a good portion of Storytel AB (publ) (STO:STORY B) along with institutions must be dismayed after last week's...